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IRWINDALE>> Following months of drama with neighbors and the city about alleged strong chili smells coming from its new Irwindale factory, Huy Fong Foods announced that it will open up the factory to public tours.

In a letter sent to “Sriracha Friends” Tuesday, the company, which produces the famous “rooster sauce,” said anyone can make an appointment to come see the new 650,000 square foot factory and its state of the art equipment in action.

“After many months of transitioning from Rosemead and testing our new equipment. We are pleased to announce that we are now ready to invite visitors to our new building in Irwindale,” the letter reads.

The company has faced a rash of complaints about its new factory, which began hosting chili sauce operations last year, from neighbors who say the smell of the chili grinding burned their eyes, caused them to gag, and gave them nose bleeds. The city of Irwindale has filed a lawsuit against the company and a judge forced it to partially halt operations, though the three month chili harvest season had already ended by the time the ruling was made.

Irwindale is also expected to schedule a public meeting this month to discuss the lawsuit and factory’s future role in the community.

Donna Lam, executive operations officer at Huy Fong Foods, said the public tours are an effort to reach out to the public amidst some of the recent issues.

“Since there still have been complaints about the ‘irritating’ smell the City says we still emitting now, when we are not grinding, (owner David Tran) would like our Sriracha Fans to come see firsthand, or come ‘smell’ firsthand how Sriracha is made and its delicious smell themselves,” Lam said in an email.

To schedule a tour, offered from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, call 626-286-8328.